


The Wager

by freudensteins_monster



Series: Movie Prompt Meme [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Inspired by Fanart, Inspired by a Movie, Movie Prompt Meme, Movie: 10 Things I Hate About You, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, nanihoosartblog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-09-25 19:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9841097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freudensteins_monster/pseuds/freudensteins_monster
Summary: captain-biryani asked for Logyn x 10 Things I Hate About You.Thor's grounded indefinitely but Odin makes him a deal: he can go to parties... if Loki goes too.





	

Loki sat in the living room, a sharp contrast to the cheerful décor in his signature black, trying not to sigh with boredom whilst Odin ripped into a hungover Thor yet again.

“I’ve had had it up to here with your immaturity and your recklessness!” the old man shouted whilst his wife lingered in the background, ready to step in if things went too far. “Do you have any idea how many favours I had to call in just so that the police wouldn’t press charges?! Do you honestly think you will get into any decent college with that sort of drunken buffoonery on your record?!”

“I’m sorry, father. I wasn’t thinking-”

“Exactly!” Odin roared. “You weren’t thinking! You never think things through. You only care about having ‘fun’ in the moment, consequences be damned. Well, I have had enough! You are grounded until you graduate!!”

“Odin…” Frigga chided quietly before Thor had a chance to object.

“Fine,” Odin grumbled. “A month, then. And after that you will have a strict curfew. Home by eight every evening. No excuses.”

“Father! You can’t be serious!” Thor whined, failing to know when to keep his mouth shut.

“Deadly serious,” Odin shot back. “You will be home by eight. You will eat dinner, you will do your homework, and you will go to bed at a reasonable hour.”

“And have no social life! If you wanted me to become like Loki so badly why didn’t you just say so?” Thor grumbled petulantly, sparing a glare at his brother sitting quietly at the other end of the couch.

Frigga whispered in Odin’s ear and Odin smirked.

“Very well,” Odin murmured before turning back to address his son. “Your mother has thought of reasonable compromise.” Thor perked up, shifting to the edge of his seat. “You can go to parties on the weekend… when your brother does.”

“What?!” Thor bellowed, jumping to his feet. “But he’s a freak – he never leaves his room!”

“Then you’ll never leave your room. Oh, I do like the sound of that,” Odin smiled, acknowledging his wife’s cleverness.

“This is so unfair!” Thor shouted before storming off to his room to fume and eventually sleep off the rest of his hangover.

Odin awkwardly acknowledged Loki’s patience and made a hasty retreat for his office. Loki bit back a sigh and rose off the couch, smiling indulgently as his mother pulled him in for a hug.

“I’m sorry, Loki. I don’t know what your father insisted you be here for Thor’s punishment.”

“It’s because Odin wants to ensure I feel involved in family affairs, and he wants to prove to me that doesn’t favour Thor.” Frigga winced at Loki’s use of his adopted father’s first name. He hadn’t given up the habit, not in the year since they’d told him the truth. “What I don’t understand is why you had to drag me into this literally. You know Thor’s going to redirect all his anger about this at me, make it my fault that his enviable social life is flagging.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much, my love,” Frigga assured him. “Your father will probably change his mind before the month is out, or Thor will just take to having parties here. You know he always finds a way out of these things,” she sighed.

“Don’t I ever,” Loki muttered, climbing the stairs to his room, fighting back against the heavy bassline of Thor’s deliberately loud music with his favourite metal album.

_A month later…_

“I can’t believe my father won’t change his stupid mind,” Thor whined to his friends as they loitered on the bleachers during a spare period.

“We’ll just have to party at your house,” Fandral suggested.

“My father seems to have thought of that and has cleared his schedule of any trips away for the foreseeable future. Bastard,” Thor muttered, pacing up and down the row.

“Well,” Sif mused. “What about his rule regarding Loki?”

“What about it?”

“You can go out when Loki goes out. So… perhaps invite him to the parties you want to go to,” Sif suggested meekly, knowing it was a long shot.

“Loki would say no simply to spite me,” Thor replied. “And it’s not like he’s shown any interest in parties before. He seems content to waste away in his room until he can run away to college.”

“We simply need to find a way to make Loki _want_ to go,” Hogun suggested, using half his allotted words for the day.

“And how do you suggest we do that? Wait for Halloween so Loki will feel like he fits in?” Fandral snorted.

“Why does anyone go to parties?” Sif thought aloud.

“To hang out with friends, to drink, and to get…” Volstagg trailed off, and each of the boys in her company promptly averted their gaze. Sif went to roll her eyes at them but was struck with an idea.

“We need to get Loki a girlfriend,” she announced. “Get him interested in a girl, encourage the girl to go to the parties we want to go to, and Loki will want to go to them to see her!”

“That’s excellent, Sif,” Fandral commended sarcastically. “Just one problem. What kind of girl would want to date Loki?”

“She doesn’t have to want to date him, she just has to want to do us a favour,” Sif shrugged, unable to figure another way out of their conundrum.

“Amora would probably do it,” Volstagg suggested absently as he fished a packet of crisps out of his jacket.

“No,” Thor replied sharply. Amora had ‘crazy ex-girlfriend’ written over all her. Even when inebriated Thor knew better than to cosy up to her.

“I could probably talk one of the junior girls into helping us out,” Fandral smirked, running a hand over the facial hair he was growing in.

Sif sneered at the patchy stubble in disgust. “As usual, you over estimate your charms. I highly doubt you could seduce a girl into dating someone else. What we need to do is find a girl that Loki might be genuinely interested in, and just ensure their paths cross.”

“Let’s go find some goths, then,” Thor declared, heading back to the main building.

 

Two days of talking to every girl in their grade with a penchant for black clothes and excessive eyeliner and they were still no closer to finding a girl to date Loki. Whilst some of them admitted, under duress, that they found him attractive, they also said that his personality left a lot to be desired. ‘Moody’ and ‘just plain rude’ were common descriptors.

“This is hopeless,” Thor whined, smacking his head against his locker.

“What about her?” Volstagg asked as a girl with copper hair and tanned skin pushed her way through the throngs of students.

“Watch where you’re going!” she snarled, pushing back against a few senior boys who were deliberately trying to get in her way.

“Moody… rude…” Sif ticked off. “Not goth though,” she added, noting the girls grungy wardrobe.

“Not a deal breaker,” Thor murmured as the group watched the girl make her way to down the row of lockers, stopping in front of a notoriously difficult-to-open one. With a little patience and properly applied force she opened it on her first try earning her several impressed glances.

“Clever,” Thor mused, hope brewing in his chest as she started switching out text books and shoving a few additional novels into her bag. “Who is she?” he asked, and all eyes turned to Fandral who was already busy getting the details from one or more of his girlfriends via text.

“Sigyn,” he read aloud. “Scholarship student. Transferred here at the start of term. Hoping to get a fine arts scholarship to a college on the East Coast.”

Thor was already making his way over to her before Fandral had finished talking.

“Hi,” he greeted, giving her his best, most charming smile.

“What do you want?” she asked sharply without looking up, slamming her locker shut.

“Uh, well,” Thor stammered, not used to women who weren’t Sif failing to swoon in his presence. “Um, long story short: I want you to date my brother.”

Sigyn blinked. “Long story long?”

“I’m grounded indefinitely. But my father put in a clause that says I can go out if my brother does. So I want you to date my brother and take him to parties so that I can go to them.”

“Oh… In that case, no,” she replied tersely, trying to end the conversation by storming off. Thor caught up to her, noting her ratty backpack, second-hand books, and clothes that were definitely goodwill grunge not newer mass-produced pseudo-grunge, and blurted out the first thing that popped into his head.

“I can pay you.”

Sigyn hesitated and hated herself for it. Thor dug out a fifty from his wallet and held it out to her, pushing down the guilt he felt at the girl’s hungry look.

“Fifty just to go and talk to him,” Thor said quietly, pressing the money into her hand. “And if he doesn’t make you want to run screaming into the hills,” he jested. “I’ll give you another hundred if you can get him to go to Stark’s party this Saturday.”

Thor waited more patiently for Sigyn’s answer than he had waited for anything else in his entire life.

“Who’s your brother?” she asked, shoving the fifty into the pocket of her jeans.

 

Thor practically skipped back to his friends.

“She’ll do it. She’ll go talk to him today, and with any luck I’ll get to go to Stark’s party.”

“How’d you get her to agree to it?” Sif asked.

“Paid her,” he replied smugly as the bell rang.

“This will not end well,” Hogun sighed as they made their way to their next class, but his warning fell on deaf ears.

 

Loki was sitting at his usual table in the library when he sensed someone hovering nearby. He glanced up from his book to see the new girl from his English class looking at the empty seat in front of him nervously.

“Do you mind if I sit?” she asked.

Loki shook his head and turned back to his book as she got settled. He expected her to get out her phone like most of students did when there wasn’t a teacher’s presence nearby to scare them into studying, but no, she got out her textbooks and her notebook and got to work. They worked in silence but Loki couldn’t help looking up from his books from time to time to see what she was doing. Eventually she shoved her text books aside and pulled out a sketchbook, a finger toying with a stray strand of copper hair as she became engrossed in the lines on her page. She filled one page and turned to the next empty one, flicking away a red flyer that had been shoved between the pages with a grimace.

“Sorry,” she murmured when she caught Loki looking at her curiously. She picked up the flyer from where it had encroached on his side of the table and shoved it into her bag. “Some girls in my art class told me about this party on weekend. All the cool kids will be there,” she repeated disdainfully.

“And you wish to be one of the cool kids?” he asked, reeling back a little when her eyes met his, realising that they were the first words he’d spoken to her.

“I’d settle for making friends,” she replied bashfully, putting her books away as the bell rang.

He followed her out of the library, walking in step with her when he realised that they had English next.

“I’m Sigyn, by the way,” she said as they neared their classroom.

“Loki,” he replied, gracing her with a rare smile, before taking his usual seat at the back of the room.

 

“Loki!” Thor called for the hundredth time that day, banging an oversized fist against his bedroom door. “Come on! It’ll be fun, I promise. Stark’s girlfriend is inviting a bunch of her friends. Private school girls, Loki! Come on!” he begged.

Loki sighed, pressing his hands against the side of his head to push back the headache Thor was giving him. Like he wanted to go meet a bunch of stuck up private school girls. They were probably no more interested in talking to him than the girls at his own school were. Girls who turned their nose up at the way he dressed or the books and music he liked. Or, worst of all, girls who changed their tune when they found out who his brother was. But there was Sigyn, he thought glancing at his door. Sigyn hadn’t even blinked at his wardrobe choices, and carried a couple of his favourite books in her bag. And she didn’t mind being seen with him, choosing to sit beside him the next time they had English together. He’d seen her struggling with the Shakespeare text they were studying and had almost worked up the nerve to offer to help her with it. But now it was the weekend and he wasn’t going to see her again until Wednesday, unless…

 _She’s probably not even going to be there_ , he reminded himself as he dug through his wardrobe, trying to distinguish one black item from the next. But she had said she wanted to make some friends, and she’d look so lonely when she said it…

Loki huffed as he shoved his feet into his favourite boots and adorned his wrists and fingers with the requisite amount of jewellery. He had just finished applying some eyeliner and was slicking back his hair when Thor started banging on his door again. Loki threw it open and pushed passed his startled brother.

“I’m driving. And I’m not staying long.”

“YES!!” Thor roared, practically picking Loki up and carrying him down the stairs.

“Let go of me, you oaf! Before I change my mind,” Loki growled, straightening his shirt while Thor raced for the door.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Odin called from the living room, moving from the couch to glare at his sons with suspicion.

“Well, you said that I could go out when Loki did, and look! Loki’s going out,” Thor beamed, bouncing on his toes.

Odin sighed. “Be back by 1am,” he said to Loki before turning his stern gaze upon his older son. “And you will return home when Loki does. If you are even five minutes behind him I will revert to my original decision and ground you until graduation. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes, father,” Thor said, attempting to sound serious but unable to wipe the smile from his face. “We should get going. Goodnight!” he called, waving at his mother and running for the car before Odin changed his mind.

“I’m already regretting this,” Loki muttered, closing the door behind him.

 

“This is not good,” Odin groaned as he settled back on the couch beside his wife.

“Wait and see, dear,” Frigga smiled, passing him his book. “Wait and see.”

 

The moment Loki stepped inside Stark’s house Thor was pushing a red solo cup into his hands.

“Loosen up and have some fun,” Thor ordered before abandoning Loki to go find his friends.

Loki tipped the drink into the nearest antique vase of expensive flowers and scoured the room for a head of copper hair. He moved from room to room, trying not to look as foolish as he felt. He found Thor again, doing a keg stand in the living room, as the rest of his teammates cheering him on, and walked in the opposite direction. Thor’s friends had never thought very highly of him, and after Loki played a harmless prank on them in their junior year (involving their brand new uniforms and food dye in the sprinkler systems) they’d had it out for him. Loki foresaw himself being thrown into Stark’s Olympic-sized swimming pool if he didn’t keep out of their way.

He pushed his way into the kitchen and decided ‘to hell with it’ and reached for a drink.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” a familiar voice warned.

Loki turned and felt his heart skip a beat as Sigyn smiled at him.

“…hi,” he murmured, his voice lost beneath the chaos of the party.

“It’s really cheap beer,” Sigyn advised, reaching past him for a shot of something red. “But Stark didn’t skimp on the spirits.”

Loki picked up a blue shot, clinking the glass against Sigyn’s before knocking it back. They both coughed as the alcohol burned their throats, then laughed at each other, then coughed some more.

“Do you want to go somewhere quieter?” Loki asked, revelling in how close he had to get to her to be heard, smiling at the way Sigyn’s freckles darkened as she blushed.

She nodded her assent and Loki took her by the hand, leading her away from the swarms of teenagers and up the stairs. Tony had barred the way, with velvet rope of all things, as he always did, in a poor attempt to keep people for having sex in any of six bedrooms upstairs. As a secondary measure he always made sure his parents’ bedroom door was locked, as was his own. Loki, not wanting to seem remotely presumptuous, didn’t make for any of the bedrooms, instead he walked down the hall and stopped in front of a large bay window. He pushed it open and stepped out onto the roof, holding out a hand to help Sigyn through.

“Wow…” Sigyn remarked once she got settled, her eyes roaming over the lush, manicured Stark estate. “Tony’s parents are really loaded, huh?”

“Mhmm,” Loki replied dumbly, unsure what to say now that he’d gotten Sigyn alone.

“I didn’t think you came to these sort of things,” she commented, fidgeting with a loose button on her plaid shirt.

“Not really my scene, no, but I wanted to see you,” Loki admitted, too nervous to gauge her reaction.

“Loki…” Sigyn sighed, her body tensing.

Loki felt himself deflate; hope was for fools.

“Sorry for bothering you,” he muttered, moving to escape back through the window.

“Wait. Please,” Sigyn begged, digging into the pocket of her jeans. “Here,” she said, handing him a crumpled fifty dollar bill.

“What’s that for?” Loki asked warily.

“Thor paid me to talk to you. He wanted me to get you to come to the party so he could,” she confessed, shaking as she fought back tears. “I’m so sorry.”

“He paid you to get me here?” Loki repeated through gritted teeth, sitting back down next to Sigyn in a huff. “But you didn’t even ask me to come,” he said after a moment’s contemplation.

“That’s what makes it worse,” Sigyn sniffled. “I like you, and you like me, and I ruined it,” she cried, trying to get Loki to take the tainted bill from her. Loki curled his hand around hers, fighting against every instinct he had to cut his losses, cut Sigyn out of his life, and run.

“Why did you agree to it?” Loki had to know.

“I needed the money,” Sigyn replied, hanging her head in shame. “I hated myself for taking it, but I really needed it… and then I met you… I’m an awful person, I’m so sorry.”

“Keep it,” Loki whispered, pushing the bill, clenched in Sigyn’s hand, away. When Sigyn looked up in surprise he kissed her, briefly, sweetly, and wiped away her tears with the pads of his thumbs. “Keep the money,” he repeated. “I want to believe that you wouldn’t have made such an agreement unless you were desperate. And I know that you wouldn’t have confessed unless you were a good person, Sigyn. A good person, but a foolish one,” he smirked, trying to lighten the mood.

“How so,” Sigyn demanded, her lip curling in amusement.

“You should have held out for double.”

“Oh, well, the fifty was just to talk to you. I get an extra hundred for getting you here,” Sigyn teased.

“Oh really?” Loki laughed, his eyes dancing with mischief as an idea started for form.

 

Thor was rummaging through his locker before heading for practice, his friends milling about nearby, when Sigyn appeared beside him, clearly her throat loudly.

“Sigyn!” Thor bellowed, pulling her into a bone crushing hug. “I don’t know how you got Loki to go to one of Stark’s parties but you have my thanks,” he beamed.

“I’d prefer your cash,” Sigyn replied tersely.

“Right, right,” Thor muttered, digging out his wallet. “There’s a hundred for Stark’s party, and there’s another hundred in it for you if you can get him to go to Bucky’s party after the game on Friday night.”

“Make it two. Half now,” Sigyn countered, holding a hand out expectantly.

“No way! You don’t get to dictate terms,” Thor scoffed.

“Then you’ll have to find someone else to drag Loki to your friends parties,” Sigyn replied, folding her arms across her chest defiantly.

Thor deliberated for a split second before conceding defeat; he needed Sigyn.

“One twenty-five,” he bargained.

“Two.”

“One fifty,” he begged.

“Two.”

“One seventy-five,” he pleaded.

“Two,” Sigyn smirked, reaching out once more.

“Fine. Half now,” Thor grumbled, slapping the bills into her palm petulantly. “And he has to stay out until curfew. No ducking out early.”

“Whatever you say,” Sigyn replied cheerfully, turning on the spot and walking away with a spring in her step. She was joined shortly by Loki who took the money off her hands. He turned back to Thor, making a show of counting them.

“Thanks for this, Thor,” Loki grinned wickedly. “It’ll pay for a nice steak dinner,” he gloated, shoving the bills into his pocket and leading Sigyn away. “Oh,” he called back over his shoulder. “And you can forget about Bucky’s party. Sigyn and I are going to stay in and watch a movie this weekend. And the weekend after that, and the weekend after that…”

Thor watched on numbly as the pair stumbled out of the school building, leaning on each other as they laughed themselves sick.

“What the hell just happened?” Thor demanded.

Hogun just smiled grimly and shook his head, patting his friend on the back in mock sympathy.

“I told you so.”


End file.
